What If This Storm Ends
by Adoration of an Enigma
Summary: After their trip to Arizona, Anna and Charles are continuing life back in Aspen Creek. When Charles is sent on assignment by his father, though, Anna is left alone to herself and her inner struggle. When Bran gives her an assignment of her own, Anna finds herself in a struggle that leaves the life she and Charles are building together spiraling out of control.
1. Fight To Forget

Alrighty, so I know I have been way out of the writing loop for a while. I haven't been on Fanfiction publishing a story in A LONG TIME. But this one got into my head, and had to be told. Please enjoy! Please review! I will be continuing this story until the end, because Anna and Charles have a special place in my heart right next to Mercy, Adam, and my love of loves Bran Cornick. Nugh, I love him so friggin' much, I wish he were real!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: THESE CHARACTERS ARE NOT MINE, NOR DO I CLAIM CREDIT FOR THEM. PATRICIA BRIGGS IS THE SOLE CREATOR OF THESE CHARACTERS; THEREFORE THEY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. THE ONLY CREDIT I CLAIM IS THE STORY LINE IN WHICH I CREATE!

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Chapter One: Fight to Forget

The horses were quiet as Anna curled up in her usual spot in Portabella's stall. The horse was loving, if not a princess. Although Portabella loved to be pampered, much to Charles chastising, the horse also loved to take care of others. And as Anna lay curled up in the corner of the mares stall, the horse stood watch over her.

It made Anna chuckle, but not in humor.

Ever since Bran had given Charles his first assignment since their trip to Arizona, Anna had been a quivering mess. To Charles, Anna was a strong she-wolf who could move mountains. But in the shadows Anna was almost consumed by the inner struggle warring over her peace.

She tried to hide her true nature from Charles, she really did. And it had worked so far. But Bran knew; Bran always knew. Which is why Anna was left here, finding comfort in Portabella instead of on her way to southern California with Charles.

It shouldn't have scared Anna so much that Bran had noticed the break in her resolve, even around her mate. Anna was a puzzle, waiting for the right moves to be made before she finally broke completely. Years of torture in Leo's pack gave her and her wolf a strong resolve to bury things deep. So deep, not even the mate bond had touched it yet.

Right now, Anna was thankful. In the future, though… Well, Anna decided not to worry about that just yet.

Yawning, Anna stretched and rose. Much to Portabella's protest, Anna needed to start her day and so did the horses. They couldn't be cooped up all day, and Anna could here Heylight a stall over whinny in impatience. He wanted breakfast, and Anna would bet anything the horse was willing to beat the wall of his stall down to get to it.

Heylight was Anna's horse, and Portabella was her mates. As much time as Anna spent with Portabella one might think it was the other way around, but Charles would crush Heylight if he bounced the wrong way. Anna was probably exaggerating, but it was a scene she could picture.

Grabbing the buckets of feed she'd set aside for the horses last night, Anna filled Portabella's then Heylight's feeding buckets. The horses were still downing their breakfast when Anna opened the doors at the back of each of their stalls which led to their grazing paddock. The horses would emerge when they pleased, which was fine with Anna. The connecting barn and paddock saved Anna the trouble of haltering each horse and dragging their lazy butts to their much beloved grazing area.

When Anna rounded the outside of the barn to the side paddock door, she caught a whiff of a familiar, albeit unexpected, scent. She glanced up to the house, and at this angle she could just make out the rear of a familiar Humvee.

Anna took her time finishing her chores in the barn, knowing Bran would be inside waiting for her. If she were lucky, he would be in just the right mood to fix breakfast. He'd done it before, so it couldn't hurt to be a little hopeful.

When the she-wolf slid the backdoor of the house open, her wishful thinking was rewarded with the tantalizing scent of pancakes and bacon. Bran was filling each plate with food when Anna entered the kitchen; his was back turned, and his shoulders were relaxed.

Anna was wary. Her Father-in-Law liked to appear to be nonchalant, but he was still the alpha of alphas. Out of habit, Anna took a seat at the table and waited for Bran to speak.

It took a moment, but Bran finally turned and placed a plate in front of her. When he sat, he spoke. "So," he started, meeting her eyes as he leaned back in the kitchen chair. "How have you been, Anna?"

Werewolves couldn't lie, which was such an inconvenience when Anna needed it the most. She'd found, especially around Charles and his father, that skirting the truth was the best way to keep out of suspicion and save face.

Anna picked up her fork and sliced at her stack of pancakes. "Okay," Anna answered simply. When she was met with silence, she glance up to see Bran's skeptical look.

Damn.

Well then.

Anna cleared her throat and took a bite of her breakfast. "You know, if you and Charles got together to cook a feast I bet it would be one of the best in history. Legendary. Piles of food, devoured in minutes by a lone, starving she wolf."

Anna gave a goofy, toothy smile at Bran, and was rewarded with a slight humored crinkle at the corner of Bran's eyes.

Bran let out a long breath, and let his leaning chair fall back onto four feet. "I need someone to go into Missoula to check out a new shop that has opened up."

With Bran's intentions out there, Anna knew she'd been allowed to pass under his radar for now.

She took a bite and nodded. "The new Wiccan shop?"

It was Bran's turn to nod around his food. "Yes. I was hoping you had nothing planned today."

Translation: If you had anything planned, reschedule. This is more important, but I'm not going to be outright with that fact.

Anna grinned. "Bran, with Charles gone do you really think I had anything important planned?"

Bran shrugged, closed his eyes, and then sighed.

Setting his fork down, he began, "Anna—"

"Don't," she interrupted, pausing mid bite to stare at the table. And with the tone he'd just slipped into, Anna knew this breakfast and errand he was asking of her had hidden intentions behind it. Bran's movements and decisions always did. "I'm not mad, or frustrated. I'm okay with your decision to send Charles alone on this assignment." She looked up to meet Bran's eyes, and to his gaze was trained on her sudden tense form. "I'm fine."

There was silence as they each ate their breakfast, before Anna finally said, "I was thinking of going into Missoula today anyways. I needed some new reading material."

Bran said nothing, but she could feel his gaze on her as she purposely avoided his. She knew Bran was checking on her, making sure her wolf was safely at bay and that she was taking care of herself while Charles was away.

Anna was fine, truly. But it didn't help that she had to keep telling herself that. After the Arizona trip, Anna had finally realized how her inner demons hadn't disappeared when she'd met Charles. They had merely buried deeper into her conscious, waiting for the worst moments to appear.

Anna would go to Missoula later, do a little shopping, check out the shop Bran was curious about, and she would be back to normal. She just had the jitters because Charles was away. She would push aside her slight annoyance at Bran's meddling, and have a fun day to herself. She had to repeat that to herself a couple times before she could meet Bran's eyes, and smile with conviction.


	2. Hurricane

Hello all! Here is chapter two; I hope you enjoy. Also, I am basing the title of each chapter on the name of a song I believe fits for each chapter. This chapter is Hurricane by 30 Seconds to Mars (ft. Kanye West). Last chapters was Fight to Forget by RED.

Thanks for reading, please review when you're finished! Enjoy!

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Chapter Two: Hurricane

The trip to Missoula took about three and a half hours, but Anna didn't mind the drive. Unlike Charles, Anna enjoyed driving. If she had a choice she would have loved to have ridden one of the horses, but the car was much more time efficient and feasible.

After the encounter with Bran that morning, Anna had to work at pushing her frustration behind closed doors. It was inconvenient that she seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve, because it drew unwanted attention. Attention that should be spent elsewhere, and not on her who already knew she was beyond simple help at this point.

Anna knew she needed help at some point, but at the moment she could internalize the pain of the memories and nightmares. Right now she could handle it on her own, and she didn't need unwanted and unneeded attention to add to her struggle.

Pulling off the highway, she followed her smartphones directions to the new, little shop that had just opened up in downtown Missoula. Bran hadn't said much about the errand he was having her run, except for his dislike at an apparent new witch to the area opening a shop under his nose without his approval.

Anna had to fight the urge to remind her father-in-law that his Marrok influence stretched only so far, and that reach did not cover witches that weren't linked to the pack in anyway. But she would digress; it was Bran's job to needlessly worry over possible threats to his pack. That's what made Bran Cornick, the Marrok, an effective, protective and influential alpha. He paid attention to the small things, which was also why his pack was filled with the misfit and psychotic wolves—including herself.

The shop was located at the very end of a strip of shops along one of the main roads that ran through town. Anna parked her car on the street, tucking her keys and wallet into her jacket pocket as she walked along the sidewalk. The shops were eye-catching and well put together, with windows that were decorated and full of interesting items that Anna would have immediately checked out if she weren't on Marrok business.

Marrok business first, then personal business. Well, maybe a little personal business first. Anna had to resist the tempting clothing display in one of the windows, but finally she made it to her destination.

Where the other shops were tempting to the eye, Maverick's Book's and Herb's was clearly not. The window display was empty and dark, save for a few shelves and a little dust. Anna paused, and glanced around. People strolled up and down the sidewalk, but no one seemed to walk to Maverick's end of the strip. It was as if there was a shield around this particular part of the sidewalk, which could explain the feeling of alert that Anna was getting. It was subtle, akin to the feeling of being watched, but it wasn't enough to make Anna high-tail and run.

The inside of the shop wasn't much of a difference from the display window. It was as if the shop had been here forever, gathering dust and memories until someone came along and slapped an 'OPEN' sign on the door. Book shelves filled the majority of the space, and where the shelves failed to take up space books, stacked as high as they could go without toppling over, were piled. It wasn't as if someone had forgotten them on the floor, because the shelves were overflowing as well. Organization was not a key factor on this shops priority list.

Anna stole a glance back towards the door before taking a few steps forward. The more steps she took the further she seemed to feel from the outside light, and the more she felt like she was entering someone—or something—else's domain. She felt like an intruder as she entered an aisle and past the stacks of books that were filled ceiling to floor. In a way, she had entered someone else's domain. If the owner of the shop was a true witch, no doubt protection spells would be cast throughout every inch of the shop, which was probably why Anna was feeling eyes on her back. Magic had a tendency to do that to those who weren't exposed to it much, and lately Anna's life had simmered down to a broil instead of a raging fire of chaos.

She pushed the warning bells going off to the back of her mind and focused on her surroundings. Busying herself reading the titles of books, she was slightly shocked to see some modern titles mixed in with older books. Books on magic she had expected, but when _50 Shades of Grey_ popped up she was needlessly surprised.

Through the aisles she could make out that the far right wall was filled with herbs and bottles, some filled and some not. The counter was covered in books, boxes, loose paper, and candles. The more Anna observed, the more she wanted to grab some gloves, cleaning supplies, and get to work. Anna wasn't as organized as her husband, but good God Almighty was this shop a disaster.

 _This witch might want to use some of her magic for some personal gain, and get to work on this dust._ Anna let her thoughts wander as she tried to hold back a large sneeze.

The whole point of this visit was to get a feel for the shop, which Anna was definitely getting, and attempt to tell if the owner was a true witch or not. Since there was no shopkeeper in sight, or scent, Anna decided to take a personal moment and hunt for some reading material. She had wanted to come into town for that very reason, after all.

Eyes wandering, Anna combed through stack after stack, pile after pile, reading, skimming, gazing at different titles and their descriptions to try and find something to hold her over until her next visit to Missoula. It probably would have been much easier to head to the Barnes and Noble across town, but where was the fun in that? Looking at the same old books every visit was hardly Anna's idea of shopping. Besides, she was… getting a feel for the shop, for Bran. It didn't hurt to snoop and shop; sometimes they were practically the same thing. Snooping, shopping… Both could be justified to Bran, at least in Anna's eyes.

Anna didn't know how long she had been combing through the shelves, but after a while she did find a couple interesting books. Nothing to outlandish, but she did snag 50 Shades of Grey and hide it in between a dessert cookbook and an interesting story about a Volkswagen mechanic who had to deal with a life plagued by werewolves, among other things. The later sounded unusual, but interesting and familiar; it sparked Anna's interest. Besides, 50 Shades of Grey might provide her with some useful information she could use with Charles. At least, that's how _she_ justified the purchase to herself.

Anna was inspecting a few romance novels when a sinking feeling came over her. Her stomach dropped, her shoulders felt heavy, and something felt so very wrong. Freezing, she glanced around and lightly sniffed the air. Nothing outright caught her attention, but something was triggering her gut instinct to _run_.

Putting the novels down, she tucked her other titles into the crook of her arm and quickly glanced around.

"Hello?" she lightly called, after considering the drawbacks revealing her presence among the stacks.

No reply.

Anna was about to listen to her gut and make for the checkout counter, when she caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. To her left a shadow darted between the aisles, and disappeared further back into the store.

Anna's feet were moving before she could even think, and before long she was heading deeper into the stacks of books. If Anna had felt like an intruder in the foyer, then she definitely felt the weight of eyes on her the more she delved into the store.

She really didn't know why she didn't head to the counter and wait for someone to appear. It wasn't as if chasing after shadows had left her in any good situation in the past, but Anna couldn't shake this feeling that she had. Mixed in with the warning bells and curiosity was an insane urge to find… Anna didn't know what. Something. She had to look and find something, but just as she was about to give into better judgement the sound of falling books caught her attention.

In the silence of the store the thumps sounded like crashes. Each time one hit the floor, Anna could feel herself flinch. She had hoped to come across someone in the aisles, but now that she was this deep into the store she was hoping that she wouldn't be so lucky. She could feel her wolf pacing inside of her, impatient to get back to where she could make an easy escape.

Anna followed the noises a couple aisles over to where a stack of books had toppled over into the middle of the floor. Resisting the urge to turn her back on the shadow that had caught her eye, she set her books down next to the fallen pile and gathered the other misplaced items in her arms. Scanning her eyes along the shelves, Anna couldn't find where the books had fallen from. Each stack in front of the shelves seemed to be untouched, all the same height and with the dust undisturbed. She turned in a circle, focused on finding the correct place to return the books in her hands until another thump from further down the aisle caught her attention.

The sole book landed with a muted 'thump' and Anna's eyes trained on the spot. Nobody was around, not even a shadow, as she gazed around the aisles. That searching feeling rose up again in Anna, and, despite her wolfs protest, she urged herself forward to stand over the book. Setting the stack in her arms on the floor, she picked up the book at her feet and turned it over in her hands. It was the size of a normal hardcover book, but the cover was wrinkled and leather like. No title was on the cover or spine, and when she flipped through the pages they were smudged and appeared to be handwritten.

The more Anna looked the book over, the more she felt the sinking feeling in her stomach settle. She knew she probably shouldn't be skimming over the pages like she was; reading something in a language she didn't understand, but a little peek didn't hurt, right? Just as her eye caught on a particular page with a hand drawn picture, the book was snatched from her hands.

Anna gasped and instinctively took a step back, a silent snarl on her lips.

The woman who stood before her was about her height, with long dark hair and piercing grey eyes. Her skin was porcelain white, with a creamy touch to it. The tight skinny jeans and form-fitted shirt didn't match the age her eyes seemed to show, which led Anna to use her nose and confirm that this was the 'witch' she was looking for.

And without a doubt this woman was a _witch_.

She gave off the distinct scent of natural elements, and if fire had a scent this woman was wearing it. She smelled… hot, with a touch of wet soaked earth and cool ice. It was a distinct scent, one Anna should have been able to identify as soon as she entered the shop.

"How did you get this?"

The woman's smooth voice pulled Anna from her thoughts, and she dropped her gaze to the book in the woman's hand.

"It was laying here on the floor. It fell from the shelves with these," Anna said, eyes trained on the book, even though they should have been trained on the real target, which was witch standing in front of her. "I was going to put them back, but—"

"This should have never been out here," the woman interrupted, and then stopped. Looking Anna over slowly, the witch pursed her lips and worked her jaw. "Thank you, for fixing the books. Can I help you with anything?"

Anna took in a breath, and watched the woman hold the book close to her body. She finally drew her eyes up to meet the woman's grey, questioning orbs, and nodded. "Yes, I'm ready to check out."

Nodding, the witch slid past Anna and quickly made her way to the front. For some reason, it felt like a much shorter walk back to the front than while Anna was searching through the stacks in the first place.

When she emerged from the shelves, the natural light spilling from the windows was brighter than Anna remembered and the counter was cleaned off. Pushing her slight confusion out of the way, Anna surmised that the woman had cleared off the counter while she was chasing figurative ghosts. Go figure Anna would be preoccupied and not focused on the one task Bran had given her.

Placing her purchases on the counter, Anna fished out her wallet.

"Fifteen seventy-five," said the woman after pressing a few keys in her computer turned register. When had that gotten there?

Anna handed the woman a twenty and attempted to make small talk. "So, when did you open the shop? It's new to me. I haven't seen it here before."

Pulling out change, the woman answered, "I opened the shop a few days ago. I apologize about the mess; I'm still trying to get everything settled in here. Four twenty-five is your change." Handing the money to Anna, the woman met her gaze. "Need to pay the bills somehow, right? I couldn't wait to open any longer."

Anna nodded, and then made a pointed glance at the jars of herbs behind the counter. "What do you sell the herbs for? If you don't mind my asking."

"Not at all. I'll answer any question to please the alpha of the area." The woman was donning a toothy, wide grin when Anna's surprised gaze snapped back to her. "I know a werewolf when I see one, especially one that is trying not to be seen while they are checking out the new witch's shop in town. I knew I was going to get a visitor of your kind sooner rather than later."

Anna gave another once over of the woman with a new appreciation, settling into the forwardness of the woman. "Well at least you aren't opposed to werewolves in your shop."

The woman gave a short, curt laugh. "Not at all. I'm used to the likes of your kind, as well as many other species of unnatural creatures."

Anna resisted the urge to flinch at the term "unnatural." She was a monster, yes, but not "unnatural." Before Anna could speak, the witch corrected herself.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend. I came from a coven that did not appreciate the likes of your kind, and I'm trying to live differently. Hence the new shop, and new life."

Anna nodded, and glanced back at the herbs.

"I sell them to anyone who asks: humans, fae, werewolves, whoever may have a need for them. I live upstairs above the shop; I've been here for a month now. I apologize if your alpha is bothered by my presence in his territory, I meant no offense. I simply didn't see a need to report to someone who doesn't own me mind, body and soul."

And suddenly, Anna liked this woman much more than she should have. "Agreed. I'm just here to make sure you mean no harm to my alpha, my pack, or myself."

The woman shook her head. "None whatsoever. But it is interesting that you separate yourself from your pack, when you said that."

Anna paused, gaze unwavering against the woman's. She fixed a stray hair behind her ear, and held out her hand suddenly. "Anna Cornick."

The witch blinked, glanced at Anna's outstretched hand, and took it in a firm shake. "Rhona Maverick."

Suddenly, there was a shock in their touch and the witch jerked her hand back, narrowing her eyes at Anna's hand.

Anna pulled her hand back and returned her change to her wallet. The sinking feeling returned, and Anna chose to respond to it this time. "Sorry, the air must be dry. Thank you for the books. I'm sure my alpha will be in touch."

Turning, Anna grabbed her bag of books and made her way to the door. Her hand on the handle paused at Rhea's next words.

"Knowing Bran Cornick, I will hear from him or your husband real soon."

Anna didn't linger to ask how the witch knew about Bran, or Charles. She didn't even notice the beautiful window display, or the crowds of people passing the shop.

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Thank you for reading! Please Review! I will try to be consistent with my updating!

~Adoration


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